A "New Year's" Update

I love Bookcrossing and will always love it! It`s already a part of my personal life history. Your message came as a bit of surprise- it suited me to think everything was going on just smoothly and nicely. I`m sure there`ll be a good wave of responce and support from BC community. Personally I already made a small donation and will spread the word to everyone who might feel connected and symphatetic to BC. I wish with all my heart things to get better for your family! You have our love and support.

Complete Thread

(Ummm...ok - we’re a bit late, but if Monday is the new Friday, then March must be the new January.)

Looking back at 2012, it is no secret that there's much room for improvement. What happened? “Not much,” you might say. And you are correct.

We sincerely apologize for that; Bruce and I had to take on full-time jobs outside of BookCrossing again, just to keep the BookCrossing ship (as well as our own ship) floating. We continue to pour money into BookCrossing just as we have done for many years, and, to make ends meet, we’ve geographically divided to conquer, and Bruce has started up a full-blown veterinary practice 16 hours away from me in Watford City, North Dakota. We continue to remain grateful for your loyalty and patience while we both work much more than just "full time" to maintain our now independent loads. In the meantime, we are putting Ardik as point person for BookCrossing’s communications.

Scarcity of resources, both in regards to money and time, has had a paralysing effect. We, at headquarters (including Ardik in Germany) had planned and expected to spend much more time and energy, not only in development, but also in some management tasks. However, life got in the way more often than not, and the outcome was rather disappointing.

Thankfully, there are those passionate and focused team members who were (and luckily still are) very dedicated to BookCrossing, but with very little response from us, the core team, they were all too often stuck in the dark, and the situation was very straining for their motivation. We are happy and grateful to be able to report that they are still eager and available to pick up their work as soon as they are needed again.

When we look forward at 2013, we do so with great hope and positive intentions; we are currently in the process of reconnoitering, re-arranging and re-deploying our energies and tasks. We've learned the lesson of overpromising and underdelivering and will no longer make any lofty promises. We’re looking forward to a year of huge improvements; after all there's room for that in all directions, so it can only get better!

One major development is that we seem to be closer to the launching of the EU Supply Store. While it has been a slow research and development project, you can soon expect Release Bags (and in several languages) with EU local shipping options. Check out the Forum posts on this topic in the next few days or so.

What is it that you can do? Here are 5 great ideas to help the site:

1. We appreciate your support, patience and your continuous habit of practicing BookCrossing!2. If you are a seasoned BookCrosser and you speak a language into which BookCrossing has not yet been translate, ping us using the Contact Us link if you’d like to help translate. We’d appreciate hearing from you!3. We welcome your bug reports and feature requests. Keep ‘em coming. We will eventually get to them!4. While third party ad displays alone don’t pay BookCrossing, when you click and buy, we so earn a very small commission and every little bit helps.5. Finally, (and oh, so important), we wholeheartedly appreciate - and need - your financial support through buying BookCrossing goodies: Wings, labels, and just no-string donations.

We wish each and every one of you a successful, healthy, and happy 2013 and look forward to building even a better BookCrossing. After all, the year is Two-Thousand THIRTEEN, and since the world didn’t end and it’s not a year of Fridays, it can only go up from here!

How good to hear from you, thanks! It's always good to have an idea what's going on behind the scenes, and I'm sure this will make us appreciate your work and efforts even more, while at the same time helping us take the occasional bug with more patience and humor. And I for one am very much looking forward to the EU supply store! :D

Thank you for this update Heather. And for all the effort and commitment on your part to keeping this community going. Hopefully the EU store will help with income, we're so looking forward to being able to get our hands on more official supplies! I just received my order from the store today, really quick turnaround, big thanks to those involved.

It's a promo for the practice, that was shot by Selkirk, their youngest son. I'll dig it up and send it. It's pretty authentic, especially for what goes on in the care of large animals. I'm betting some people, who don't know the standards for care, or who don't want to see people put their arms in places you'd not likely explore, could be upset or grossed out, which is why I'm not posting it. If someone PMs me, though, I'll send it.)

Here you go. I'll stick my neck out (better than my hand in ;-)--Here is the scoop in a quick nutshell--no bones picture of our days:

He is working about 16-18 hours a day, 7 days a week as the only vet in a 50 mile radius seeing everything with fur, scales or feathers on 2 legs or 4, walking or crawling, farm calls, 4-H speeches, rodeos, border health checks, homecare, haul in, emergencies, office hours, you name it--oh, and all the startup business demands (hiring, payroll, inventory, scheduling, advertising, etc). Sleeping on a cot in the office between desks--no kitchen. I have the phone forwarded to the ID office from North Dakota for the day (yes, that makes the vet clinic, the B/B, AND BookCrossing all on 1 phone line at the moment), 3 kids and a skeleton staff here to manage, cleaning and anticipated checkins forthcoming in a few hours, while he is managing appointments and interviewing 2 new hires so he can eventually get relief and come home. I've seen him 3 times in 10 months. We will get through, God-willing. It's been a heckuva 2 years and that is the raw snapshot of life at the Pedersen's lately ;-)

Here you go. I'll stick my neck out (better than my hand in ;-)--Here is the scoop in a quick nutshell--no bones picture of our days:

He is working about 16-18 hours a day, 7 days a week as the only vet in a 50 mile radius seeing everything with fur, scales or feathers on 2 legs or 4, walking or crawling, farm calls, 4-H speeches, rodeos, border health checks, homecare, haul in, emergencies, office hours, you name it!

I grew up on a farm and my brother is a farrier who works with a vet in Indiana. It isn't an easy job.When I was a teenager our vet pierced my ears! The cowboys were cracking jokes and asking if one hole was supposed to be higher than the other:) My mom was going to get hers pierced that day, but chickened out!

Thank you both, and the volunteers, for all the work you're doing and all the time you're putting in despite all that you have going on in your lives. It is easy to forget that BC is not some big corporation with hundreds of employees to do its bidding, nor with a huge budget and a steady profit to keep things flowing smoothly all the time.Looking forward to the EU store, I'm sure that'll help a lot once it is up and running.

Thankfully, there are those passionate and focused team members who were (and luckily still are) very dedicated to BookCrossing, but with very little response from us, the core team, they were all too often stuck in the dark, and the situation was very straining for their motivation. We are happy and grateful to be able to report that they are still eager and available to pick up their work as soon as they are needed again.

Yes, we are :-D

And after all, even if it is frustrating sometimes - very often it also is much fun!

Thank you for all your effort and sacrifices you've made for Bookcrossing - you've not only brought people together with books, you've brought people from around the world come together! Without you, there wouldn't be this amazing community of wonderful people and I'm certainly thankful for it. It'll be so great to have a European store again, I'll be stocking up on the first day it opens...'til that day I'll be supporting you through spreading some wings :)

I am glad you have been so honest about the problems you face. As you can see there is plenty of understanding, goodwill and offers of support about. Given the pressure you are under I do not expect to see you reporting here daily but the occasional report like this is so import to those of us who are trying to help BookCrossing.com survive and thrive.

Thank you for your effort to keep Bookcrossing going. It's good to hear from you. Next year it will be 10 yaers since I joined BC and I will stay a crosser for at least another 10 years (I hope). All thanks to you!I wish you, Bruce and your childeren the very best!

It's good to hear from you, sorry that life is so full on for you both. I'm not giving up on Bookcrossing in the slightest and still really enjoy reading the books, meeting other bcrs and of course passing on the books. I'm always spreading the word, actually I did just that this morning on a bookworm's blog. She sounded very interested.Good news about the EU supply store.

Since I joined bookcrossing some years ago I have made many new friends and got to know many 'new' writers. Who says that the internet makes the world unpersonal? I wish you all the best and hope that times for you will soon be better!

I suppose I am guilty of this without thinking about it and there are probably many more bookcrossers out there the same we just log onto a website without thinking about the hard workers in the background :(I had some issues earlier this month and should have been more patient as once noticed they were dealt with promptly and professionally I am another bookcrosser looking forward to the return of European supplies I ordered recently without realising the time it would take to receive items or that I might yet get hit with custom charges on top last time I got supplies they were collected from another UK bookcrosser who'd bulk ordered while at some USA meet up of some description so never realised the complications of direct orders will be nice to see a return of European supplies Thanks for all your hard work and sacrifices to keep bookcrossing up and running for myself and all the friends I've made through bookcrossingSarah x

I am another bookcrosser looking forward to the return of European supplies I ordered recently without realising the time it would take to receive items or that I might yet get hit with custom charges on top last time I got supplies they were collected from another UK bookcrosser who'd bulk ordered while at some USA meet up of some description so never realised the complications of direct orders will be nice to see a return of European supplies

I'm afraid the premature termination of Ginger Geoff's UK supply store for lables and similar was another of BC's own goals. Why end it before the new store is up and running smoothly? It was slightly Heath Robinson but it worked. It's now been what? two or three years? since Geoff ceased to supply lables in Europe and it's just not economic to order them direct from the US.

Thanks for letting us know this, Heather. I think it's important that people realise that BC is not a massive conglomerate.BC has been an important part of my life for the last 7 years. I've made lifelong friends, found lots of new authors and have had a lot of fun along the way.I'm so grateful to you both for what you are doing to keep BC afloat, and I'm sure I speak for many, many others.Thank you.

Thank you for all of your efforts and hard work to keep BookCrossing site going. Like many other BCers, I wish you good luck. I am also happy to hear about the EU supply store's plan (although I am in the US). It will make many BCers in EU area happy, very soon :)

This has made me think.... in the 4 years I have been on BookCrossing how much have I gained... given to me for FREE.

- Gained great friendships.... which are priceless.

- Gained knowledge of my hobby...different genres I have read, free books I never would have read etc.

- How much I've saved by not buying that book I wasn't sure whether I would like but put on my wishlist to read and found out...it wasn't my cup of tea

- The different places I have visited that I would not necessarily have visited.

I have been thinking about all the money, work, time and energy that Heather and Bruce put in to making me squeal with delight (indirectly) through Bookcrossing when I come home from work after a stressy day and see a rectangular shape parcel sitting on my doormat. In fact 9/10 they are not rectangular shaped as the generosity of Bookcrossers is SOOOOO huge the book is usually accompanied by chocolates, sweets, labels, etc, etc....*huge smile on face*

I get all the above for free!

Any other "club" I have joined in the past, I have had to pay a fee...the Gym £30 monthly, my local deaf club £1 a week, football club £50 a year plus £5 per game. Unfortunately charges need to be made to cover costs of overheads but this is something that I have accepted, if I want to do something I love.

Bruce and Heather aren't asking for direct donations BUT I AM...Bookcrossing is something I love doing and I'm not sure how I would feel if I lost this "extended family" without a fight. I know, I tend to take things for granted but we have been given the warning...we might regret it if we don't make a stand now.

Please think about how much you have gained from Bookcrossing and how much you will miss it if it is gone and make a donation NOW...even if just $5! If enough of us donate, it will make a HUGE difference.

This has made me think.... in the 4 years I have been on BookCrossing how much have I gained... given to me for FREE.

- Gained great friendships.... which are priceless.

- Gained knowledge of my hobby...different genres I have read, free books I never would have read etc.

- How much I've saved by not buying that book I wasn't sure whether I would like but put on my wishlist to read and found out...it wasn't my cup of tea

- The different places I have visited that I would not necessarily have visited.

I have been thinking about all the money, work, time and energy that Heather and Bruce put in to making me squeal with delight (indirectly) through Bookcrossing when I come home from work after a stressy day and see a rectangular shape parcel sitting on my doormat. In fact 9/10 they are not rectangular shaped as the generosity of Bookcrossers is SOOOOO huge the book is usually accompanied by chocolates, sweets, labels, etc, etc....*huge smile on face*

I get all the above for free!

Any other "club" I have joined in the past, I have had to pay a fee...the Gym £30 monthly, my local deaf club £1 a week, football club £50 a year plus £5 per game. Unfortunately charges need to be made to cover costs of overheads but this is something that I have accepted, if I want to do something I love.

Bruce and Heather aren't asking for direct donations BUT I AM...Bookcrossing is something I love doing and I'm not sure how I would feel if I lost this "extended family" without a fight. I know, I tend to take things for granted but we have been given the warning...we might regret it if we don't make a stand now.

Please think about how much you have gained from Bookcrossing and how much you will miss it if it is gone and make a donation NOW...even if just $5! If enough of us donate, it will make a HUGE difference.

This is so true I too have gained a lot through bookcrossing and passed on this great community to family and friends as a great place to be involved in without ever thinking of a donation. I last night bought wings for four friends but even so someone somewhere is sitting working on providing those technical images fluttering each side of those names.I followed your link to donations out of curiosity and was absolutely astounded by the tiniest of amounts these start at just $2 / £1.34 wow really who can't afford that every once in a while a cup of coffee at a cafe would cost me more than that and this website brings me far more happiness so I agree whole heartedly with footymadgill if enough of us donated even such a small amount it would make such a difference to the site and take a small amount of pressure off Heather and Bruce and the others who work so hard for us

This is so true I too have gained a lot through bookcrossing and passed on this great community to family and friends as a great place to be involved in without ever thinking of a donation. I last night bought wings for four friends but even so someone somewhere is sitting working on providing those technical images fluttering each side of those names.I followed your link to donations out of curiosity and was absolutely astounded by the tiniest of amounts these start at just $2 / £1.34 wow really who can't afford that every once in a while a cup of coffee at a cafe would cost me more than that and this website brings me far more happiness so I agree whole heartedly with footymadgill if enough of us donated even such a small amount it would make such a difference to the site and take a small amount of pressure off Heather and Bruce and the others who work so hard for us

I'm off to donate now......how about you???

If you have a PayPal account, you might want to check whether there's some loose change on it from the last time you used it to purchase something online..it might just be enough for the smallest donation! *winkwink* Just want to say a huge thank you to all contributing to the site and our beloved hobby!

Bruce and Heather aren't asking for direct donations BUT I AM...Bookcrossing is something I love doing and I'm not sure how I would feel if I lost this "extended family" without a fight. I know, I tend to take things for granted but we have been given the warning...we might regret it if we don't make a stand now.

Please think about how much you have gained from Bookcrossing and how much you will miss it if it is gone and make a donation NOW...even if just $5! If enough of us donate, it will make a HUGE difference.

This has made me think.... in the 4 years I have been on BookCrossing how much have I gained... given to me for FREE.

- Gained great friendships.... which are priceless.

- Gained knowledge of my hobby...different genres I have read, free books I never would have read etc.

- How much I've saved by not buying that book I wasn't sure whether I would like but put on my wishlist to read and found out...it wasn't my cup of tea

- The different places I have visited that I would not necessarily have visited.

I have been thinking about all the money, work, time and energy that Heather and Bruce put in to making me squeal with delight (indirectly) through Bookcrossing when I come home from work after a stressy day and see a rectangular shape parcel sitting on my doormat. In fact 9/10 they are not rectangular shaped as the generosity of Bookcrossers is SOOOOO huge the book is usually accompanied by chocolates, sweets, labels, etc, etc....*huge smile on face*

I get all the above for free!

Any other "club" I have joined in the past, I have had to pay a fee...the Gym £30 monthly, my local deaf club £1 a week, football club £50 a year plus £5 per game. Unfortunately charges need to be made to cover costs of overheads but this is something that I have accepted, if I want to do something I love.

Bruce and Heather aren't asking for direct donations BUT I AM...Bookcrossing is something I love doing and I'm not sure how I would feel if I lost this "extended family" without a fight. I know, I tend to take things for granted but we have been given the warning...we might regret it if we don't make a stand now.

Please think about how much you have gained from Bookcrossing and how much you will miss it if it is gone and make a donation NOW...even if just $5! If enough of us donate, it will make a HUGE difference.

Thank you for updating us Heather, it is great to hear from you and to know that you and Bruce are still interested and working hard in this amazing world of Bookcrossing that you created. Hoping that you will both be able to return to a normal family life soon and that bookcrossing starts giving back to you like it has to so many of us since we joined. For me, it has changed my life in so many ways - so many wonderful people I have met along the way, new books, new authors and new places to visit. Long live bookcrossing!

It's stands to reason that bookcrossing can't operate without an income.I always buy a year of wings but I remember the time when we had a new CEO who suggested that we couldn't operate without financial contributions from the members. It was as if he had declared WW III. Heated and ugly discussions abound and he was vilivied by most of the members. He left the organization for another job. it looks that people are now more open to make contributions and I'm glad because I would hate to see this wonderful idea go down the drain because of lack of money. I'm sorry to hear that you Heather and Bruce had to find other employment to sustain yourselves and Bookcrossing from going under. I thank you for all the work you have done and still do and I'm sure it was not without scacrifice.Although I'm not as active releasing as I used to be I still want to be part of this and share my books. Books that were released 5 years ago are still caught and journaled. This still thrills me.

I suspect it's more that over the past few years we've seen a gradual disappearance of a particular segment of the population. Every forum seems to attract a number of people who just want free entertainment on their own terms and who get very angry at the suggestion that they should start to pay for it - or even, in this case, register and release a book. Many of BCs such hangers on and freeloaders got shunted into Fun and Games where they ceased to be an irritation to the rest of us and have since drifted away somewhere else.

I shall be buying more stuff from the shop...promise...and intensify my effort for bookcrossing and my TeddysDen....hope for a good turn, money- and otherwise..wish you all the best with your new jobs..manuma

I love Bookcrossing and will always love it! It`s already a part of my personal life history. Your message came as a bit of surprise- it suited me to think everything was going on just smoothly and nicely. I`m sure there`ll be a good wave of responce and support from BC community. Personally I already made a small donation and will spread the word to everyone who might feel connected and symphatetic to BC. I wish with all my heart things to get better for your family! You have our love and support.

Heather and Bruce: You do a great job. I'm visiting the BX'ing store right now. My Mom (Bucklesbook, 85) loves getting supplies for birthday/Xmas. I'm low on stuff too, but more than that, I hope this will help. We love Bookcrossing and all its karmic, serendipitous, friendshippy - not to mention good read - facets.

I don't think I can add more to what has been said already, but BookCrossing is such a big part of my life, I really want to thank you (and all my BC friends out there). Wishing you all the best, and look forward to seeing you at one of the conventions!

There isn't much I can say that hasn't been said before, but you haven't heard from this particular corner of the world yet. It's important that you get it from all possible angles! :)

Never underestimate the influence BookCrossing has had on 1) us, the enthusiastic (OK, somewhat addicted) participants, 2) the greater pool of registered but more subdued BCers, and 3) the millions out there who have all experienced that moment of surprise and pure delight when picking up a free, travelling book and recognising it for what it was.

Many thanks to you, Bruce, Ardik, Moem and the many other behind-the-scenes volunteers who are keeping this wondrous boat afloat. It's a bit like farming: those who plough and plant and sow rarely witness the enjoyment of the final product. So we just have to tell you. :)

Remember to click through Bookcrossing.com when ordering online books. Do this either by using the Booksellers button, or go to the Store tab and select Affiliates, then your bookseller of choice. Every little helps! I know I forget to do this, but I did remember yesterday, and hopefully I'll do it from now on.

Thank you, Heather, for the update, and to you and your family for the continued dedication to keep this site running. Hopefully, everyone will heed your call for support and further patience. Happy New Year to you all!

Thank you for the update and for all the work you guys continue to put into this wonderful site. I couldn't imagine my life without BookCrossing now. I have purchased wings again (and some for some friends), I will hold off on the supplies until there is an EU store.

I had the pleasure of meeting both you, Bruce, and your son when he was looking at colleges in Boston. I am so sorry to hear about the personal hardships you are having to endure to keep BookCrossing up and running. Thank you for everything you do!!! Some kind and generous fellow BCer just gave me my wings back and I intend to pay it forward very soon. Sending good thoughts and positive vibes your way ;) Bless you for keeping the faith and continuing to believe it will all work out.

How amazing that you haven't given up on Bookcrossing. Less dedicated people would probably have done so before now.As others above have said Bookcrosing has changed my life and that's thanks to you Heather and Bruce for keeping Bookcrossing going when the chips have been down.I wish you had told us earlier - we're good at supporting our BC friends.I'm going to pop over to the shop right now.Thank you so much for all that you have given us and I hope that your life becomes more sane very soon. Keep in touch. X

I appreciate all of the work everyone puts into Bookcrossing! And just as long as it doesn't disappear completely, I'm fine with the way it is right now. I wish I could support Bookcrossing more than I do. There was another thing on the above list not mentioned:

If you buy through the 'affiliates' link to betterworld whenever you order from them, Bookcrossing gets part of that money. I at least be sure to do that whenever I order from Betterworld.

I have tried to support this wonderful community. I just have bought the wings for one year and 6x1 month wings in my birthday challenge in the Finnish Forum. I also keep myself pawed all the time.I'm grateful and thankful to keep this site alive and functional. I have meet people that I can now be considered as friends. This community is something I can't describe in words.I just want to thank you. I have found a family, which I did't know existed. <3

I lived in that area for 3 months back in 1982 while working at the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Yes, you both will have lots of challenges even if everything goes very well. While the community is generally nice I've been reliable told that you aren't accepted as a real part of it until your family has lived there for several generations. Some say it is because so many, like me, just pass through. I say it is that attitude that makes it harder for people to stay. I've only one good friend up there (in Grassy Butte) that I keep in touch with but he's a rancher with those generations behind him. If it would be a help PM and I'll pass along his name and contact information, you could then have an insider on your side. You met me in Charleston (like you'd remember, LoL, I was the patch lady) and Bruce played trivia with my daughter and me in the Charleston Un-convention (we were all very exhausted, not surprised if he doesn't remember me from then either, <grin>) but trying to show I'm legit. Best wishes regardless...

Thank you for the friendships and the books and the amazing journeys that have come my way all because of a little thing called Bookcrossing. I have just made my donation to keep this wonderful community afloat and hope that all whose lives have been touched by BXing will consider doing their part to keep this amazing concept alive and to keep food on Heather and Bruce's table.

Wow, this is an eye-opening post! As a new(ish) member I never really gave much thought to who, or what, is behind Bookcrossing or how it's financed. I didn't even bother with the wings as I thought I probably wouldn't "need" them, but after reading this thread I'm going to purchase them first thing when I get home - it's the least I can do! Also, count me in with those who eagerly wait for the opening of the EU supply store...

To verbalize would be to limit how touched we are by our BookCrossing community. Thank you so much for the outpour of love and support in a very tangible way. Bruce and I are overwhelmed with gratitude for the heartfelt words of thankfulness, the store purchases, donations and love, concern and wonderful ideas (we have even had a few BookCrossers offer to fly out and help with the B/B and administration!) that have been flooding the site and our inboxes over the past weeks. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! To each and every one of you, THANK YOU for helping to keep the site alive. We seriously couldn't make it all happen without you.

PS: In celebration, we have treated ourselves to one less encumbering "keep warm in the freezing home-office" sweater, indulged us all in upgraded roll of 2ply toilet paper, and replaced the lightbulbs to 100 watt so we can now see (Heck, thanks to you, Johnny even has a HOT cup of coffee this morning!). We are feeling the wings of your support and it is absolutely refreshing.

To verbalize would be to limit how touched we are by our BookCrossing community. Thank you so much for the outpour of love and support in a very tangible way. Bruce and I are overwhelmed with gratitude for the heartfelt words of thankfulness, the store purchases, donations and love, concern and wonderful ideas (we have even had a few BookCrossers offer to fly out and help with the B/B and administration!) that have been flooding the site and our inboxes over the past weeks. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! To each and every one of you, THANK YOU for helping to keep the site alive. We seriously couldn't make it all happen without you.

PS: In celebration, we have treated ourselves to one less encumbering "keep warm in the freezing home-office" sweater, indulged us all in upgraded roll of 2ply toilet paper, and replaced the lightbulbs to 100 watt so we can now see (Heck, thanks to you, Johnny even has a HOT cup of coffee this morning!). We are feeling the wings of your support and it is absolutely refreshing.

Wow! I am not surprised, this community is wonderful. But I am moved to tears reading your post. I tried to read it out loud to my husband but welled up again and had to stop.

I made a link in the scandinavian forum to this thread the other day and people started buying wings and supplies straight away.

To verbalize would be to limit how touched we are by our BookCrossing community. Thank you so much for the outpour of love and support in a very tangible way. Bruce and I are overwhelmed with gratitude for the heartfelt words of thankfulness, the store purchases, donations and love, concern and wonderful ideas (we have even had a few BookCrossers offer to fly out and help with the B/B and administration!) that have been flooding the site and our inboxes over the past weeks. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! To each and every one of you, THANK YOU for helping to keep the site alive. We seriously couldn't make it all happen without you.

PS: In celebration, we have treated ourselves to one less encumbering "keep warm in the freezing home-office" sweater, indulged us all in upgraded roll of 2ply toilet paper, and replaced the lightbulbs to 100 watt so we can now see (Heck, thanks to you, Johnny even has a HOT cup of coffee this morning!). We are feeling the wings of your support and it is absolutely refreshing.

Would be interesting how many wing purchases have been made in March compared to Jan/Feb. Its hard to find anyone not flying at the moment!

Will donate as soon as I close this post. Been a BCer since 2004. Haven't been super active lately, although I did release a book today -- the first in a long time. Would hate to see this site disappear. Appreciate all the work Heather and Bruce have done and are doing. Time now to put my money where my mouth is.

Firstly, thank you so much for keeping the site going. I've met very many friends through BookCrossing, both online and in real life. It was there for me when I felt lonely and isolated when my daughter was tiny. And when I moved to a new city where I hardly knew anyone, what was the first thing I did? That's right! I looked up the local BookCrossers! I never realised just how much of your time and money and energy it takes up. So thank you, thank you.

Secondly, would it be possible to put a link on your Affiliates page to the UK BetterWorldBooks site? I buy from them quite often. It would be great if some money went to you every time I did. I will of course also donate whenever I can afford it.

who asked me why I give away books. She had heard of BookCrossing and even knew our world library goal, but wanted to know what I got out of doing this occasionally expensive hobby, what would cause me to give away treasure (books)? I explained that I hadn't had access to them when I was a child. I mostly lived in rural communities too small to have public libraries. I was introduced to my first library when I was in second grade and it was the size of a one-room schoolhouse.

I choked up a little telling her this, and she started crying. As a child, her only library had been a bookmobile visit every few weeks. Every time we meet, she gives me a hug and tells me about her grandson who has just moved into chapter books - I bring some for him each week now.

By comparison, I am a rich woman now, a house so full of books it threatens to burst at the seams. Why do I do this? Because I want children to grow up into readers. I want to encourage the love of books. I want to have a world library so large that no child ever goes without books. Without BookCrossing, many many joys and friendships in my life would not have happened. Thank you, Heather and Bruce, for keeping this dream alive.

I am not a seasoned BookCrosser, but I am willing to translate this site into my mother tongue. Although you may feel skeptical about it, I am serious with it and I do want to help this site. I am currently studying and I am not like other teens who do not take schooling seriously. I am confident to do this because I know my language much and I want to help BookCrossing. Please let me hear(or should I say read) your thoughts. Thanks.

I always thought I don't need wings. Actually that is true: I don't *need* them as I can do all the essentials in BC very well without them. (And it is just wonderful how this site is free!) But after I read this I *wanted* to purchase them. I just want you to know how much I appreciate your hard work and I want Bookcrossing to "live long and prosper."